As an organisation, you’re always looking for ways to become more sustainable. But with the average data centre consuming as much energy as 25,000 homes, it’s vital that you look at new ways to reduce your carbon footprint.
And cloud technology should be on that list.
Moving to the cloud gives you all of the advantages of a green data centre solution. Think renewable energy sources. Or incorporating cooling technologies that use less power.
You’re also able to store and access your data remotely. Cutting down on the need, footprint and costs involved with in-house servers.
Yes. Cloud is by no means a new thing.
But by 2025, the carbon emissions of hyperscale cloud services will be a huge motivator in cloud purchase decisions. This means big competition to reach net-zero emissions and much promise in cloud ecosystems.
How Sustainability Is Defining Cloud Investment
With green data centres and renewable energy sources to run their cloud services, cloud solutions allow you to move both your IT infrastructure and your carbon footprint to the cloud. At a fraction of the cost.
However, not all cloud services are equal when it comes to environmental sustainability.
When it comes to greening your data centre, there are a number of factors that come into play.
This includes power consumption, environmental practises and how cloud providers limit or reduce their carbon footprint.
According to VentureBeat:
“Cloud sustainability, specifically, refers to the creation, delivery, and consumption of cloud services that are a net positive economically, environmentally, and socially over the long term. Hyperscalers are aggressively investing in sustainable cloud operations and delivery (e.g., carbon offset, renewable energy, carbon reductions, and more), aspiring to achieve net-zero emissions eventually within the decade, or sooner”.
While the competition is fierce, businesses are able to benefit greatly from the efforts of cloud providers. Especially in providing a more sustainable future.
it can Improve Sustainability!
The big three cloud giants (GCP, AWS and Azure) are constantly investing in innovative ways to improve the EMC2 (energy per unit cost) of their data centres and servers.
This means that there are now a number of ways that the cloud can improve overall environmental sustainability:
Energy Reductions
For organisations looking to green out their data centres, energy consumption is a major priority.
Virtualisation is one way they’ve managed to cut costs.
AWS, for example, have redesigned their data centres to allow them room to grow. These are built with low-cost modular components that can be easily added on or removed when needed. This design cuts down on energy consumption by using only the amount of power required for current needs, without having to power redundant capacity that might never be used.
And since AWS and GCP have so many data centres across the world, it’s easier for them to source power from renewable energy sources in order to run their cloud services.
Lower Impact on the Climate
Cloud technology helps businesses avoid the high cost of climate control. It is more expensive to work with machines that are running at peak performance levels all the time in perfect temperature conditions.
And many of the top cloud providers use a 28% less carbon-intense power mix.
With it, you eliminate wasteful spending due to the use of energy efficient equipment and fewer carbon emissions.
How to Get Started with Cloud and Become More Sustainable
By making the switch to the cloud, you’ll be able to optimise your operations and reduce your reliance on energy-heavy legacy systems.
Moving to the cloud gives you the ability to help your company reduce its environmental impact and improve its bottom line.
It allows you to save money while still providing the best possible service to your customers.
So if you’re looking for a way to make your business more sustainable, consider making the switch to the cloud.
